1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic tape cassette-accommodating case, and more particularly to a magnetic tape cassette-accommodating case which is provided with an index card provided between the magnetic tape cassette and the case.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a magnetic tape cassette (hereafter referred to as the cassette) used for audio equipment and the like, when stored, is accommodated in a magnetic tape cassette-accommodating case (hereafter referred to as the cassette-accommodating case) formed of a plastic or the like, so as to prevent the entry of dust and provide protection from physical damage.
Conventionally, a known cassette-accommodating case is arranged such that a cover 72 having a pocket 71 for a cassette 70 is openably supported by a main body 73 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 3-45891), as shown in FIG. 9. The main body 73 and the cover 72 are respectively provided with wall portions 74 facing the obverse surface and the reverse surface of the cassette 70, and recessed portions 75 are respectively formed on the opening/closing distal end sides of the inner surfaces of the two wall portions 74.
With the cover 72 and the main body 73 closed, the recessed portions 75 respectively receive an enlarged-thickness portion 76 of the cassette 70 accommodated in the pocket 71. With the cover 72 closed, the interval between the wall portion 74 of the main body 73 and the wall portion 74 of the cover 72 is slightly larger than the thickness A of the cassette 70 other than the enlarged-thickness portion 76, and the interval between the two recessed portions 75 is slightly larger than the thickness B of the enlarged-thickness portion 76 of the cassette 70. In other words, the interval between the wall portions 74 is set by using the thickness A of the cassette 70 other than the enlarged-thickness portion 76 as a reference, and the cassette-accommodating case is thus formed as the so-called slim type in which the thickness of the case is set to a minimum.
As for such a cassette-accommodating case, a proposal has been made to use an index card 80 provided with an opening 81 at a position opposing the recessed portions 75. The index card 80 is positioned such that an end portion 82 bent in a U-shape in a side view is fitted in the pocket 71 of the cover 72 of the cassette-accommodating case, and a flat portion 83 folded in two extends along the wall portion 74 of the cover 72. The recessed portion 75 of the cover 72 is opposed to the recessed portion 75 of the main body 73 without being closed by virtue of the opening 81 of the index card 80, so as to receive the enlarged-thickness portion 76 of the cassette 70 being accommodated.
On the other hand, there are index cards which are formed without the opening 81. In one index card of this type, the flat portion 83 of the index card 80 has a size extending from the pocket 71 side to the inner edge side of the recessed portion 75. However, the index card of such an arrangement has a drawback in that the area for writing the details of recording information becomes small.
Further, as another arrangement of the index card in which the opening 81 is not formed, there is one in which the index card is subjected to embossing in correspondence with the configuration of the contour of the recessed portion 75 at a position facing the recessed portion 75, so as to be indented in conformity with the configuration of the enlarged-thickness portion 76 of the cassette. In such an arrangement as well, the recessed portion 75 is not closed flat by the index card, and its recess is made use of, thereby making it possible to effectively receive the enlarged-thickness portion 76.
It should be noted that, in the arrangement in which this embossing is provided, the fitting of the index card is allowed in a case where the recessed portion 75 is formed on the opposite side to the side in a cassette-accommodating case 100 shown in FIG. 9, i.e., on the pocket 71 side.
With the above-described conventional index cards, since the opening 81 or the embossed portion is provided, effective use of the function of the recessed portions of the cassette-accommodating case is made without being hampered. With the index card 80 having the opening 81, however, the opening 81 needs to be formed in advance in the flat portion 83 which is folded in two, for instance, so as to be registered with the recessed portion 75. Accordingly, there are cases where the positional correspondence between the opening 81 and the recessed portion 75 is offset, and, since the opening 81 is cut off, the area is bound to be too small by that portion or amount.
In addition, with the index card provided with embossing, embossing needs to be provided in advance at a position corresponding to the recessed portion. In other words, in this case, although the writing area is not reduced, there is a problem in that a relatively expensive facility for providing embossing is required, so that much labor and time are required for production, resulting in a higher cost. Furthermore, if the position of the embossing is offset, the fact that embossing is provided conversely impairs the function of the recessed portion 75, thereby undermining the stable accommodation of the magnetic tape cassette, so that high positional accuracy is required.